Madinat al-Muslimeen Islamic Message Board

A R C H I V E S

God-neither male or female

Madina Archives


Madinat al-Muslimeen Islamic Message Board

God-neither male or female
Sheen
06/25/02 at 16:50:02
[slm]
I was recently asked that where in the Quran is it mentioned the Allah has no gender. The only sura  i was able to think from top of my head was Sura Ikhlas....i basically explained that the Sura implies the Allah is supreme and divine and that none of the characteristics of humans can associated to Him. However, i was unable to give a good explanation for the use of the masculine pronouns when referring to Allah. So, can anyone could provide me with further evidence/ explanation?
W'salam
Re: God-neither male or female
se7en
06/26/02 at 16:38:22

wa alaykum as salaam wa rahmatAllah,

The Qur'an says 'there is nothing like unto Him' -- He is unlike His creation, and He is beyond any human attribution of gender, age, etc, may He be glorified and exalted.  

From my limited understanding of the Arabic language, there is no gender-less pronoun 'it' -- inanimate objects are referred to as feminine (for example, a village would be referred to as 'she'), and animate objects as masculine.. and thus Allah is referred to as 'He'.

It's also interesting to note that the word 'Allah' has no plural or gender.

wAllahu a'lam.

wasalaamu alaykum  :-)

06/26/02 at 16:42:59
se7en
Re: God-neither male or female
Sheen
06/28/02 at 02:29:17
AA,
Thank u for the explanation se7en...can u tell me exactly where this ayah "there is nothing like unto Him" is? And r there any other specific ayahs regarding this issue?
[wlm]
Re: God-neither male or female
AbdulJalil
06/28/02 at 15:38:15
assalamu alaikum


Tafseer of Sūrah al-Ikhlaas - the Chapter of Purity

By Shaykh ul-Islām ibn Taymiyyah rahimahullaah


The Ahl-us-Sunnah wal-Jamaa'ah (i.e. the Sunnis) do not deviate from those things which have been brought by the Messengers, for that is the Straight Path, the path of those whom God has bestowed His favour upon from among the Prophets, the Truthful, the Martyrs and the Righteous. It is in this collection of what has been described about Almighty God by Himself in Sūrah al-Ikhlaas (literally: "The Chapter of Purity") that makes it equal to one third of the Qur'ān. In this Sūrah, Almighty God has said:

"Say! He is God, the One!
The Eternally Besought of all!
He does not beget, nor is He begotten.
And there is nothing comparable to Him."

1. Whatever the Messenger of God, may the peace and blessings of God be upon him, brought with him, that alone is real. It is obligatory to obey it and forbidden to deviate from it as this alone is the Straight Path which has no curves.
2. The Straight Path is only one and whoever deviates from it he strays onto the wrong path, innovation and injustice. Almighty God commands (in the Qur'ān):

"And this is My Straight Path, so follow it and do not follow the other paths lest they divert you from His way."

3. The Straight Path is that path of the Ummah (community of Muslim believers) which lies in between the two extremes. Hence, the supplication in every rak'ah (i.e. unit) of the prayer: "Guide us to the Straight Path", that He should help, assist, guide, support and lead us in those things which will help us to obey Him and keep us steadfast on His Path. This is the Path of those who were favoured by God: the Prophets, the Truthful, the Martyrs and the Righteous, and these are the best for keeping company.

4. The Concept of Tawheed has been explained in Sūrah al-Ikhlaas by separating and purging it from Shirk (associating others with Almighty God, polytheism and idolatry).

5. Imam Ahmad's narration of 'Ubayy bin Ka'ab that the mushrikoon (i.e. pagan idolaters) asked: "Oh Muhammed! Tell us the genealogy of Your Lord!", whereupon God revealed this Sūrah.

6. From authentic hadiths, it is proven that this Sūrah is equal to one third of the of the Qur'ān. The substance of the statement of Ibn 'Abbaas (a Companion of the Prophet) is as follows: that the Qur'ān consists of three fundamental objectives:

a) Those commands and prohibitions which contain the laws and practical ways. These form the subject matter of the science of Fiqh (jurisprudence) and Ethics.
b) The tales and narratives which include the stories of the Prophets and Messengers of God and their communities. The punishments and disasters which befell those who resisted and denied the Messengers of God. Also, the promises, rewards, warnings and dooms.

c) The knowledge of Tawheed (the Unity of God) and the description of those matters which relate to the Names of Almighty God and His Attributes, which to have faith in is obligatory upon the servant of God (i.e. each Muslim). This has precedence over the first three.

7. Sūrah al-Ikhlaas contains the third objective and a general description of it. Thus, it is correct to say that this Sūrah is equal to one third of the Qur'ān.
8. The answer to the question that how does this Sūrah contain comprehensively the knowledge of Tawheed and its principles which form the essence of the belief in Almighty God. God's command "He is God, the One" negates partnership with Him in every sense, whether it concerns His Self, Attributes or His Deeds. It also demonstrates the distinctiveness of God in His perfection, magnificence and majesty. The word Ahad is not used in affirmation for anyone besides God, since Ahad is more emphatic than Wahid.

9. The Tafseer (commentary, exegis) of Ibn 'Abbaas for the verse "God! al-Samad (i.e. the Eternally Besought of all).": The Chief who is best in His Nobility. The Great one who is best in His greatness. The Tolerant One who is best in His toleration. The Omnipotent who is the best in His omnipotence, the All Knowing who is best in His knowledge. The Self which is perfect in all types of nobility and greatness - that Self is only God - the Most Revered and the Most Powerful. He alone has these qualities for they do not apply to anyone save Him. No one is equal to Him and no one is like Him.

10. The Tafseer is also as follows: The Self who has no fear, around whom all creatures turn and Whom they seek after for all their needs and actions.

11. Affirmation in the Oneness negates all forms of polytheism and similitude. Affirmation of all the meanings of al-Samad includes all the noble Names and the most exalted Attributes. This is the Tawheed of Affirmation.

12. The Tawheed of Purity is in the statement: "He does not beget not nor is He begotten. And there is none comparable to Him". This statement can also be understood from the general statement: "Say! He is God! The One". Nothing came out of Him nor did He come out of anything. He has no equal, no likeness and no similarity.

13. Domination of of the concept of Tawheed in this Sūrah. The affirmation of Oneness for the Lord in total and absolute contradiction to all forms of Polytheism. His character of being "Eternally Besought of all", which proves all His Attributes, that He cannot suffer from any defect, negation of father and son which is an implication of Him being in no need and that all is in need of Him. All is characterised in the statement of His being besought and His Oneness. Negation of an equal which includes negation of similarity, resemblances and likeness. This Sūrah includes all of these matters and is therefore rightly deserving of being called equal to a third of the Qur'ān.


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The Meaning of The Pronoun "We" As Used in The Qur'aan


It is a feature of literary style in Arabic that a person may refer to himself by the pronoun nahnu (we) for respect or glorification. He may also use the word ana (I), indicating one person, or the third person huwa (he). All three styles are used in the Qur'an, where Allaah addresses the Arabs in their own tongue. (Fataawa al-Lajnah al-Daa'imah, 4/143).

"Allaah, may He be glorified and exalted, sometimes refers to Himself in the singular, by name or by use of a pronoun, and sometimes by use of the plural, as in the phrase (interpretation of the meaning): 'Verily, We have given you a manifest victory" [al-Fath 48:1], and other similar phrases. But Allaah never refers to Himself by use of the dual, because the plural refers to the respect that He deserves, and may refer to His names and attributes, whereas the dual refers to a specific number (and nothing else), and He is far above that." (Al-'Aqeedah al-Tadmuriyyah by Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyah, p. 75).

These words, innaa ("Verily We") and nahnu ("We"), and other forms of the plural, may be used by one person speaking on behalf of a group, or they may be used by one person for purposes of respect or glorification, as is done by some monarchs when they issue statements or decrees in which they say "We have decided…" etc. [This is known in English as "The Royal We" – Translator]. In such cases, only one person is speaking but the plural is used for respect. The One Who is more deserving of respect than any other is Allaah, may He be glorified and exalted, so when He says in the Qur'an innaa ("Verily We") and nahnu ("We"), it is for respect and glorification, not to indicate plurality of numbers. If an aayah of this type is causing confusion, it is essential to refer to the clear, unambiguous aayaat for clarification, and if a Christian, for example, insists on taking ayaat such as "Verily, We: it is We Who have sent down the Dhikr (i.e., the Qur'an)" [al-Hijr 15:9 – interpretation of the meaning] as proof of divine plurality, we may refute this claim by quoting such clear and unambiguous aayaat as (interpretation of the meanings): "And your god is One God, there is none who has the right to be worshipped but He, the Most Beneficent, the Most Merciful" [al-Baqarah 2:163] and "Say: He is Allaah, the One" [al-Ikhlaas 112:1] – and other aayaat which can only be interpreted in one way. Thus confusion will be dispelled for the one who is seeking the truth. Every time Allaah uses the plural to refer to Himself, it is based on the respect and honour that He deserves, and on the great number of His names and attributes, and on the great number of His troops and angels." (Al-'Aqeedah al-Tadmuriyyah by Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyah, p. 109).

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------


Re: God-neither male or female
AbdulJalil
06/28/02 at 15:59:36
assalamu alaikum


Nothing is Similar to Allah Almighty

"....there is nothing whatever like unto Him and He is the One That hears and sees (all things)." (Qur'an: Translation of the meaning, 42:11)



Re: God-neither male or female
Soulman
06/30/02 at 19:39:57
It is easy to go too far in anthropomorphism, and this type of thinking tends to be pretty limiting after a while which is why I personally don't agree with it. But if you will consider the earth: the earth is the archetypal mother. She produces crops and grain and is the place we rest on. Nature may be an extension of this, giving us what we need to live. It does not mean that the earth/nature is actually a woman or a mother. There is a hadith of the Prophet:"A day will come when the Earth will be elevated and she will be asked to bear witness against the children who oppressed her."

God orders the universe and is the disposer of all its affairs including earth and nature...people use 'He' when speaking about God does not mean "He" is "male" in any respect, nor does He share anything in common with creation and is beyond what can be grasped by the imagination. This is a common misconception and should be made crystal clear to all. In particular, in Islam, the name "Allah" has no masculine, feminine or neuter forms. In fact the name "God" is also very appropriate finding its way into Europe from Persia coming from the word "Ghod" representing the "name you cry when there is nobody to cry to". It has nothing to do with gender.

We understand that the earth is not female, and has no gender as such. So why do people have this problem when we say "He" for God? Well, No. 1 reason is that the world's most numerous religion, christianity, preaches that God is in fact a man!!! :o It is not your fault that you have met this concept and it shows the effect of christian prosthelitysation that the question arises time and time again.

[slm]

S.

Re: God-neither male or female
Dawn
07/01/02 at 06:08:44
[quote author=Soulman link=board=madrasa;num=1025038203;start=0#5 date=06/30/02 at 19:39:57]So why do people have this problem when we say "He" for God? Well, No. 1 reason is that the world's most numerous religion, christianity, preaches that God is in fact a man!!! :o It is not your fault that you have met this concept and it shows the effect of christian prosthelitysation that the question arises time and time again.
[/quote]Just a quick correction.  Christianity teaches that God [i]became[/i] a man, not that God is a man. And it is more complicated than that, as it also, rather paradoxically, teaches that God is spirit.  In the New Testament, the gospel of John attributes the following words to Jesus. "Yet a time is coming and has now come when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for they are the kind of worshipers the Father seeks.  God is spirit, and his worshipers must worship in spirit and in truth."  For those interested in the reference, this is John 4:23-24 and comes in the context of Jesus' conversation with the Samaritan woman at the well.  

Nonetheless, Christianity (and some branches of Judaism, though they were considerably less influential) can be credited with attributing the nature of Fatherhood (and hence a masculine association) with God.  (There may be other religions for which this is also the case, but they have historically had considerably less power and influence.)  Personally, I think that this had more to do with the fact that the societies in which Christianity arose and developed were distinctly male oriented, and if they would have arisen in matrilineal societies, the notion could easily have developed into "God the Mother" instead.  But the latter is pure speculation on my part.

Peace,
Dawn

07/01/02 at 06:09:40
Dawn


Madinat al-Muslimeen Islamic Message Board
A R C H I V E S

Individual posts do not necessarily reflect the views of Jannah.org, Islam, or all Muslims. All trademarks and copyrights on this page are owned by their respective owners. Comments are owned by the poster and may not be used without consent of the author.
The rest © Jannah.Org